Sparkle the Designer Cat's Blog, page 355

Random and Weird Outtakes

The outtakes have been piling up, so I thought it was time to give you a few.

Notice how my pink tongue matches my Valentine house!

I guess I forgot something.

Well, that three-quarters wink was really attractive! Not.

I’m not sure what I was doing here — I look like I was about to sneeze!

I was looking around to make sure no pet store employees caught me scratching their cat tree!

Well, now you know what I really thought of the whole Boodie Furminating photo shoot!

I hope you enjoyed my outtakes today!
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My 2016 calendars are here!

Furminating Boodie, Spring 2016 Edition

Since Boodie’s fur usually does not mat, my human gets a little lazy about grooming her. But when the weather starts warming up, it becomes really obvious that she needs grooming, badly. That’s when my human takes her out to the enclosed patio, which has an easy-to-clean concrete floor, to get her fur back in order.

This is the reason why my human doesn’t groom her more often — she’s a real pain to deal with! She wanders off, doesn’t like being restrained, and eventually goes from pathetic to annoyed. My human spends a lot of time following her around the enclosed patio with the comb and Furminator.

This time, instead of just the Furminator, or a combination of the Furminator and some cheap brush, my human used my fancy, expensive comb! I’m not sure how I felt about that. First she combed out Boodie’s fur, in case there were any tangles, then she Furminated her, which created a lot of loose hair, so she combed her again.

There! Doesn’t she look much improved? Don’t worry, her tail didn’t get Furminated off — she’s just hiding it.

This is all the fur that came off of Boodie from the grooming session! It’s about typical of the piles of fur she creates after a groom.

While my human was finishing up with Boodie and all the fur she left behind, my human’s boyfriend showed up with some cantaloupe for me. What service! By the time Boodie was done, I had chowed down. Apparently she feels she should have gotten something too for all her trouble. (Don’t worry, she actually did.)
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My 2016 calendars are here!

Tortitude – a Book Review and Giveaway From Binga

I was all ready to do a review of Tortitude: The BIG Book of Cats with a BIG Attitude by award-winning author and Conscious Cat blogger Ingrid King.

But some kitty thought she was more qualified to do it.

And you know what? I had to agree with her. So I let her take over.

What is “tortitude?” It refers to cats with patches of black, orange, red, tan, and variations thereof, but more than fur hues, it refers to our personalities. Tortitude means that we are the most awesome cats in the world and we make sure you never forget that! It is only logical that there would be a book like this to worship tortoiseshell cats because we rule, literally and figuratively. Veterinarians and scientists say there is no link between our beautiful multi-colored fur and our personalities, but they are lying! They are probably worried that we would take over if we realized how amazing and unique we were. But too bad for them, we torties already know and we are already in charge. Just ask anyone who lives with one or more of us.

With a blurb from Jackson Galaxy and a Foreword by Hauspanther’s Kate Benjamin, Tortitude comes with an impressive pedigree (as well it should). This is a beautiful, hardcover coffee table style book loaded with photos of stunning tortoiseshell cats from all over the world. There are also some facts and folklore about torties, and you should definitely take notes.

Even lesser cats would enjoy this book.

You must buy a copy of Tortitude now! Yes, there is a giveaway below, with one copy going to a lucky reader — and if you live in the U.S., I demand that you enter right this second — but buy a copy anyway because there are humans out there who need to know that we torties should be properly worshipped.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: We received a complimentary review copy of Tortitude. Link to book on Amazon is an affiliate link.
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My 2016 calendars are here!

Yogi Cats Book Review and Giveaway

I think some of you are already familiar with Feline Yogi’s yoga mats for cats. Well, on March 5, the human who makes them, Paige Hodges, has a new book coming out called Yogi Cats!

In spite of the title, it is actually a nice little yoga book for humans. We cats don’t need a yoga book — we are already really amazing yogis! And that is the premise of the book: learning the more inner aspects of yoga through cats. Each chapter focuses on a different pose, and a different challenge for humans, plus there are lots of cute kitty drawings, and quotes from respected yoga leaders such as B.K.S. Iyengar and Erich Schiffmann, and other wise humans like Eckhart Tolle.

Look! There’s even a chapter for Binga. So maybe some cats can get something out of this book in addition to humans.

If you do yoga, you will really like this wise and winsome little book. You can get it at Amazon now — or you can enter my giveaway below because I have one copy for a lucky reader! United States residents only — good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I was given a complimentary review copy of this book. Links to Amazon and to Feline Yogi Etsy store are affiliate links.
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My 2016 calendars are here!

This Therapy Cat Stuff Is Starting to Get Serious!

So my human got this email over the weekend from the therapy pet organization we’ve applied to — and the next evaluation is at the end of April! We don’t have any scheduling conflicts, so we can do it… but look at all the paperwork that needs to be done!

There are a whole bunch of tests I am going to have to do! They are going to make me be around noisy, clumsy people who are acting unpredictably. And they are also going to make my human leave the room so I am alone with complete strangers for three minutes! Supposedly they will give me treats for that last test, so I think I will be okay for that. Honesty, I pretty much think I can do all of it, but just in case, my human and I are going to do a lot of practicing for the next few weeks. I’m used to the cat shows by now, and the pet store, so she wants to change things up for me. She is going to take me to places I’ve never been before, some of them really unfamiliar and chaotic.

There is paperwork my human needs to sign and turn in — plus my veterinarian needs to fill out a health screening form for me. All this needs to be done by a certain date. Oh, and I will need a bath and nail trim for the evaluation. And if I pass, I will get a for-real therapy cat vest and a badge!

I hope I am up for this new challenge… no, I know I am up for it!
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My 2016 calendars are here!

Binga Selfies and Test Report

Since you were all concerned about Binga, I decided to let her do this week’s Sunday Selfie and let you know what her bloodwork said… which was nothing! Her values are all really good, especially for a cat her age, and her thyroid was well within the normal range — pretty much the same as last year’s bloodwork. So nobody can figure out what is going on with her. My human is going to send her back to the vet for an ultrasound this week, but she’s not really convinced it will show anything. While she was getting checked out, Binga got a couple of shots, including Cerenia, and the veterinarian prescribed some more in pill form. So far, she hasn’t thrown up again, and she is acting normal and not sick. So unless she ate something that did not agree with her (always a possibility), it’s a mystery.

So on to the selfies! Binga doesn’t have any better luck getting the iPhone set up than I do.

And she is way worse at doing selfies.

I tried to give her some helpful tips.

I don’t think she appreciated them! And this one is as good as you are going to get, since the photo session went way downhill after this photo.

I thought I’d show her how it’s really done, and I had taken a few already when I realized I was being photo bombed. So never mind.

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My 2016 calendars are here!

Caturday Neko Pawdz Playtime, and Winner

We’ve had our Neko Pawdz tunnels for a few weeks now and we’ve been having the best time with them!

Ahem!

Anyhow, like I was saying, we cats have been playing a lot with the Neko Pawdz tunnels. Somebody is almost always in one of them.

You never know who is going to pop up!

They are great for playing hide and go seek!

I was so happy I was able to have my giveaway so that one of my lucky readers could enjoy these tunnels too, as a prize from the Neko Pawdz human.

Do you want to know who won? It’s…

Lori L.!

Concatulations, Lori! The tunnels are already on their way to you and Ozzy!

If you would like to get the Neko Pawdz tunnels yourself, you can find them on Amazon!
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My 2016 calendars are here!

Clinic Capers

Can you tell I’m at the vet clinic? Can you also tell I’m not bothered by that? That’s because I was just tagging along.

Binga was the one who needed to be looked at. Although she hasn’t been acting sick, she has been throwing up her meals a lot in the past couple of weeks, so the humans wanted her checked out. Besides, she was due for her senior bloodwork.

The waiting room was empty when we got there, so I did my usual stroll around their little store area.

While Binga was off getting stabbed and prodded, I practiced my Staying.

It wound up taking a little longer than expected because Binga needed a “time out” for a few minutes. (My human says she was being a tortie.) So I also practiced my Paw Shakes and High Fives.

Can you believe that the treat jar in the examination room was empty? Fortunately my human brought treats with her. The vet thinks that it is likely that Binga is hyperthyroid, which is fairly easy to treat. We should find out within a couple of days!
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My 2016 calendars are here!

Do Cats Love Their Humans as Much as Dogs Do?

Of course you already know the answer to this, but apparently researchers have sold cats short once again. A BBC Two documentary series called Cats v Dogs brought in a neurosurgeon to test the oxytocin levels dogs and cats. They figured that since oxytocin is one of the chemical measures of love in animals (or at least in humans and dogs), it would be a good measure. The test involved 10 dogs and 10 cats, and their oxytocin levels were gauged before and after a play session. The dogs’ levels rose by over 57 percent at the end of the play session, but only about 12% in cats. The doctor remarked that he was surprised that cats produced any oxytocin at all.

Hmmm… where do I start with the flaws of this stupid little test? I guess I’ll just list them.

The number of dogs and cats tested was too small to make it an authentic study.
Oxytocin is just one chemical measure, and apparently no one has figured out yet if it is an important factor in measuring love in cats — just in humans and dogs.
A play session was used to measure love. That works for dogs, since it is a bonding activity between them and their humans. For cats, play means one thing: hunting prey. The more humans can make a toy imitate prey, the more exciting the game will be. So when we cats play, it’s not love that is being aroused, it’s our prey drive. While we cats are grateful for a good play session, we express our love most strongly at other, usually quieter times.
The researcher was prejudiced. By saying that he was surprised that cats produced any oxytocin, he showed his own belief that he does not believe cats are loving animals.

Another thing that was not addressed in this little experiment was the type of love dogs and cats each display. Dogs are more needy and clingy. We cats don’t gush, and for the most part, we don’t cling. Our love is deeper and subtler. I know my human would feel claustrophobic by the ways dogs express love. She does not want to be needed. To her, being loved on her own terms and being given freedom and space is a true expression of love. She would not want a clingy boyfriend, and she does not want a clingy pet. She wants to just know those who love her are there for her, and that is exactly what we cats do (her boyfriend too).

So the not only was the test in this series unfair and inaccurate, it didn’t take a lot of other important things about love into account. What do you think? Do you believe your cats love you any less because they aren’t needy? And for my kitty pals — do you prefer a clingy human or one who does not smother you?
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My 2016 calendars are here!

Stay Practice

My human took me out front yesterday and made me do “stay” practice. She wants me to stay still better in distracting situations, and the front yard is the busiest part of our house.

According to her, I’ve gotten more squirrely and fidgety and I need to focus better. I think she should apply her criticism to herself. She’s not exactly so still and calm herself.

Okay, I admit, it is kind of hard to “stay” when there are birds flying around!

When a helicopter flew by right over our heads, I really did not want to stay, but my human made me.

I just want to say, I got a treat for not bolting when the helicopter flew by.

I will be honest — practicing “stay” is kind of boring! I hope I haven’t bored you.
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My 2016 calendars are here!